Knockdown box.



J. A. SCOTT. KNOGKDOWN BOX.

APPLIoATIoN FILED Nov. 29, 1912.

1,079,668, l Patented Nov. 25, 1.913.

.. 2 MEETS-SHEET 1.

'J'. A. SCOTT. Y KNOGKDOWN BOX. APPLICATION 'FILED Nov.'29,'1912. l 1,079,668.` Patented Nov.25, 1913.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

JAMES A. SCOTT, 0F WEST SOMERVILLE, MASSACHUSETTS.

KNOCKDOWN BOX.

Specication of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 25, 1913.

Application led November 29, 1912. Serial No. 734,003.

To all whom t may concern Be it known that I, JAMES A.. Soo'r'r, a citizen of the United States, residing at West Somerville, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented new and useful Improvements in Knockdown Boxes, of which t-he following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in knock-down boxes and particularly to the class of boxes used by clothiers in packing suits, coats, dresses and the like.

The object of the invention is to provide a box constructed of a single piece of sheet material cut and creased in such a manner that substantially the entire amount of material in the sheet of material from which said box is formed may be utilized to reinforce and stiften the corners of the box, and in providing a means for securing the contiguous edges of the side members together.

Another object of the invention is to provide a locking means for'the corner of the box which shall automatically lock the corner flap' in its proper position. l

Another object of the invention is to provide a reinforcing member which is formed upon the end of one of the'sides of said box from the material which has been partially severed from the piece of sheet material from which said box is formed.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a box which may be shipped or stored in its knock-down form and of such a nature that no expensive crates or packing cases are required therefor to prevent damage to the corners or fundamental elements izomprising the corner locking means there- Another object is to provide a corner locking member having a iap of double thickness and a locking nose formed upon each of the thicknesses constituting said Hap, said double flap preventing the bending of said flap when the locking members thereof are in engagement with the slit formed in the member adjacent to that upon which said flap is formed, thus preventing said locking members from being withdrawn from said slit.

The invention consists in the combination and arrangement of parts whereby the above objects and certain other objects hereinafter appearing are attained, all as set forth in the following speciicationand particularly pointed out in the claims.

Referring to the drawings: Figure 1 is a perspective View of a knock-down box embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a section taken on line 2, 2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a section taken on line 3, 3 of a development of one corner of the box illustrated in Fig. 1, the dot and dash lines in said ligure representing the original outline of the blank or piece of sheet material from which the box is formed. Fig. 5 is a detail side elevation of one corner of a modified form of my improved knock-down box. Fig. 6 is a development -of a type of box illustrated in Fig. 5. Fig. 7 is a section taken on line 7, 7 of Fig. 5.

Like numerals refer to like parts throughout the several views of the drawings.

In the drawings, 10 is a box having a bottom 1l and side members 12 and-13, or preferably side members 12, 12 and end members 13, 13 hinged at their lower edges upon said bottom 11, said side and end members being integrally formed with said bott-om from a single piece of sheet material and bent upwardly on said bottom l1 along the creases 14 and 14 between the bottom 11 and sides 12 and the bottom 11 and sides 13 `respectively, said creases 14 and 14 being either dull or cut creases and forming the dividin lines between the bottom 11 and the sides 12 and 13, respectively. lThe adjacent ends or edges 15 and 16 of the sides 12 and 13- respectively are arranged to contact one withthe other when the box is put together in readiness to receive a suit, dress or cloak, as the case may be. Means are provided for connecting or securing said sides in such relation, said means embodying at. each of the corners of said box a Hap 17 forming substantially a right angled triangle pivotally connected along the edge of one of the sides, preferably lthe edge 16 of the side l3,\aid arranged to be bent at right angles tov said side and to engage, the outer face of the side 12 adjacent to the edge 15 thereof. The blank constituting the sheet material from which said box is constructed in addition to being creased along the lines 14 and 14', see Fig. 4, is cut to form the edge 15 of theside l2 from the point a, which is the intersection of the creases 14 and 14', to the point b upon the outer edge of the side 12, said blank being further creased along the lines 16 from said point fa to the point c upon the outer edge of the side 13, thus partially severing the corner of said piece of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is f and c sheet material as represented by the letters a, b, c and d and permitting said severed portion to be bent or to hinge along said edge 16. The outer corner of the flap 17, as indicated by the triangularly shaped piece b o and d, is preferably removed leaving the outer edge of said flap rounded as indicated by the lines b said` triangularly shaped piece b c, and d v being the entire amount of material wasted in the construction of the box herein described, said rounded corner b and c being better adapted to sustainrough usage, when piled in bundles in their knock-down `condition ready to be shipped, than would a square corner suoli as d. The flap 17 is further creased along the line a-cextending from the vertex a of said triangular iap to the outer edge b-0 which substantially forms the hypotenuse for said triangle, intermediate the free edge lz-Z) of said flap and an imaginary line bisecting the angle a--bf-c, and provides a supplemental flap 18, which is adapted to be bent backv against the inner face of the flap 17, see Fig. 2, between said flap 17 and the side 12 and constituting a doubled edge 19 which stiffens the flap 17. The side 12 of said box is provided with a tongue 20,A preferably triangular in shape and formed in said side by the slit 21 which partially severs a portion of said side therefrom, the apex of said triangularly shaped tongue being directed toward the corner of said box adjacent to' which said tongue is located. As the side 13 of saidjbox is bent upwardly from its horizontal position, as indicated in dotted lines, Figll to the position shown in full lines in said gure, the outer free corner 22 will be directed behind the tongue 20 through the slit 21 and said ap 17 will beprevented from swinging outwardly away from the outer face of the side 12 by said tongue 20 engaging the outer free corner 22 thereof. To prevent the side v13 from dropping back into its horizontal position the sup lemental Hap 18 is provided with a projection or nose 23, which may be the outer free corner thereof or which may be formed at the same time the Hap 17 is severed along the line a and 7) by cutting a notch 24 in the side of said supplemental flap adjacent to said edge 15 and near the outer free corner thereof. When, therefore, the outer free corner 22 of the flap 17 is inserted through the slit 21 in the direction of the arrow f said supplemental flap hinging upon the edge 19 of said flap 17 will have a tendency to swing inwardly away from the inner face of the flap 17 and as said flap is moved through the slit`21, the upper edge 25 thereof being at right angles to the direction of movement of said flap, the nose 23 will immediately spring in beneath said f upper edge and prevent withdrawal of said Hap from said slit and the harder the pressure applied to said flap to withdraw the same the more firmly said nose will be wedged therein. The other side 25 of the slit 21 extends preferably substantially at right angles to the side 25, the same being in the direction indicated by said arrow f and as said nose engages said' slit at the corner thereof but little strain will be applied to the edge 25.

In cutting the notch 24, which may be either semicircular, triangular, square or in fact any suitable configuration, the portion of the material which is partially detached by the cutting of said notch and constituting a tab 26 remains in connection with the edge 15, consequently when the side 13 is moved to its vertical position said tab 26 will be engaged by the inner face of the side 13 and bent at right angles to the inner face of the side 12 lying snugly in the corner formed by said members 12 and 13, see Fig. 3, and when said box is used as a cover for a telescoping box, the corner of that portion of the telescoping box which has been placed within said cover will bear against the t-ab 26 which receives the thrust thereof and relieves the nose 23 and slit 21 of the greater portion of the strain on said corner.

In Figs. 5, 6, and 7 -I have shown the device illustrated in Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 4 in connection with a locking nose 27, which is formed in the curved edge b and fc by simply cutting said flap 17 along the line 28, 29 and 30, the nose 27 being arranged at such a distance from the crease a-e in the direction of the crease rz-J2, Fig. 6, that when the supplemental flap 18 is bent back, as indicated in dotted lines in said figure, the nose 23 -thereof will aline with said nose 27 thus providing a doubled thiclmessof material' at the point 29 to engage the corner 31 of the slit 21, said point 31 being a point at which the greatest strain is applied when the noses 27 and 23 are engaging the edge 25 of said slit 21.

In arranging the box, hereinbefore described, for the reception of merchandise, clothing or the like, the same is taken from the pile of boxes, which may be in their knock-down form as' indicated in Figs. 11 and 6, the sides 12 are bent upwardly at right angles to the bottom 11, the supplemental aps 18 turned back against the linner faces of the flaps 17 and the flaps 17 bent upwardly at right angles tothe sides 13 and said. sides 13 bent upwardly in turn until their edges 16 engage the edges 15 of the sides 12. During this last named movement the outer free ends 22 of the double edge 19 of the flaps 17 are inserted throu h the slit 21 in the direction of the arrow Fig. 1, at the rear of the tongues 20, said tongues retaining said flaps 17 against the outer faces of the sides 12. The upper corners of the sides 12 are then bent slightly inward to permit said sides 13 to be moved far enough through the slit 21 to permit the nose 23 upon the supplemental Hap 18 to spring beneath the edges 25 of the slits 21` and to engage the inner margin thereof, whereupon said sides 13 may be withdrawn until the bottom of thel notches 24 engage the corners of the slits 21, this latter movement being sufficient to permit the outer corners of' said sides 12 to spring back into the corners made by the flaps 17 and sides 13,

' slits 21.

Having thus described my invention, wha I claim and desire by Letters Patent to secure is:

1. A 'knock-down box embodying bottom and side members formed from sheet material, means for attaching the contiguous edges of said side members together, said means embodyingl a slit formed adjacent to one of said contiguous edges, a flap two sides of which form substantiallya right angle, said 'lap being pivotally attached at one of the sides of said right-angle to the other of said contiguous edges, the other side of said right-an le being free, a supplemental flap formed tgrom a portion of the material constituting said Hap by bending the material adjacent said free edge on a line eX- tending substantially from the Vertex of said right-angle outwardly to the edge constituting the lhypotenuse of said flap and in= termediate said free edge and an imaginary v line bisecting said right angle, aportio'n of the outer corner of said Hap including said supplemental flap adapted to be inserted in said slit, and a nose formed adjacent the outer end of the free edge of `said iiap adapted toengage the edge of said slit and lock said flap therein. p

2. A knock-down box embodying bottom and side members formed from sheet material,`means for attaching the contiguous edges of said side members together, said means embodying a slit formed adjacent to one of said contiguous edges, a flap two sides of which form substantially a rlght angle,I said iap being pivotally attached at one of the sides of said right-angle to the other of said contiguous edges, the other side of said right-angle being free, a supplemental flap formed from a portion of the material constituting said ap by bending the material adjacent said free edge on a line extending `from the vertex 'of said right-angle outwardly to the edge constituting the hypotenuse of saidv ap and intermediate said free edgJ and an imaginary line bisecting said rig t-angle, a portion of the outer corner of sald flap including said supplemental Hap adapted to be inserted in said slit, a nose Jformed in the side of said vflap which constitutes said hypotenuse and intermediate said supplemental flap 'and the pivotal side of said flap, and a second `nose formed adjacent the outer 'end of the free edge of said ap adapted to aline with said first named'nose upon the bending of said supplemental flap backwardly against the inner face of'said flap, said first and second noses adapted to engage the edge of said slit and lock said flap therein.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JAQMES A. SCOTT. Witnesses:

CHARLES S. GooDING, SYDNEY E. TAM'. 

